March 11, 2017
THE FLATS – Taking both games into the bottom of the ninth, the Georgia Tech softball team (8-14, 2-3 ACC) swept the doubleheader against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-10, 0-2), who are receiving votes in both national polls, in walk-off fashion on Saturday at Mewborn Field. The Sunday finale has been pushed back to a 2 p.m. start due to impending weather.
The Jackets tallied 27 hits on the day as the Tech bats warmed up a chilly, rainy day on The Flats.
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“The resilience was just unbelievable,” head coach Shelly Hoerner said. “We battled and we talked about producing with two outs, whether it was offensively or defensively and that was our motto. I think we did a really good job both offensively and defensively getting out of some jams. I think overall the team did a great job. It was a great team win; we had a lot of people come off the bench and produce. I’m really proud of the team, we fought and had a lot of resilience and did some great things today. We’ve got to enjoy the two wins, but we’ve got a job to do tomorrow.”
How It Happened
Game 1: Georgia Tech 8, Notre Dame 7 (9)
The Jackets rallied from down two, 6-4, to tie it 6-6 in the seventh thanks to Katie Krzus’ second double of the game, a walk from Malea Bell, and singles by Rebecca Pairie and Draven Sonnon.
Notre Dame went ahead 7-6 in the top of the eighth, but Kelsey Chisholm roped her fourth home run of the season to even the score 7-7. Chisholm also tripled early in the game in the second inning.
In the bottom of the ninth, lead off Colleen Darragh stepped into the box and blasted her first long ball of the season to get the walk off win for the Jackets.
Samantha Pierannunzi also homered in the first inning, marking the third game this season that Tech has hit at least three home runs.
Starter Emily Anderson (1-5) pitched all nine innings to earn her first win of the season. Notre Dame’s Rachel Nasland (4-4) was pinned with the loss in 2.1 innings pitched.
Game 2: Georgia Tech 9, Notre Dame 8 (9)
Notre Dame jumped out to a 6-0 lead through the first two innings. Georgia Tech didn’t give up and slowly chipped away with five runs through the next three innings.
Jessica Kowalewicz, Sonnon and Bell hit doubles as part of Tech’s five runs on nine hits through the three frames.
The Irish made it 7-5 with a run in the sixth, but the Jackets didn’t back down and plated two runs in the bottom of the seventh thanks to a pinch-hit double off the bat of Kendall Chadwick with two outs to extend the inning and a double from Chisholm .
Notre Dame got ahead in the eighth 8-7, but Tech capitalized on an Irish error, a wild pitch and a single from Bell to score Krzus. The Jackets earned the win with a hit from Karissa Arnold, then a walk from Chisholm. Two passed balls for the Irish brought in the winning Tech run.
Brooke Barfield (3-6) entered the game in the third inning and pitched seven innings with two runs on seven hits and four strikeouts.
Notre Dame’s Sara White (0-1) suffered the loss throwing 4.1 innings with four runs on four hits.
Quick Hits
– Sonnon went 5-for-8 (.625) on the day with two runs.
– Chisholm went 4-for-7 (.571) with three runs, hit for the cycle, four RBI and two walks. She totaled 10 bases on the day for a 1.429 slugging percentage.
– Katie Krzus hit 4-for-8 (.500) with two doubles, two runs and two walks.
– Prairie had three hits, while Darragh, Bell, Kowalewicz and Pierannunzi each had a pair.
– Darragh (2 runs), Arnold (2) and Kowalewicz (3) scored multiple runs on the day.
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